The Trip

Over fifteen years ago, John visited Haiti on a mission trip.  He spent a week there with our church's senior high youth.  While there, he met two agricultural advisors from Cuba.   The Cubans invited him to visit their country, which could not be done at that time, by an American.  Over the intervening years, he remembered that promise.  In 2015, visiting Cuba did become an option, if one was visiting as part of a "person-to-person" trip, an education trip or a mission trip.  Such a trip became available, through National Geographic, and we decided to sign up, given our positive experience while visiting Israel with NatGeo in October. 

We departed Miami, on a charter flight, on January 3 to Havana.  Traveling with us were 21 other individuals, all interested in seeing Cuba before it changed significantly as a result of reforms put in place by Raul Castro.  Those reforms will move Cuba, at a minimum, from a highly socialist country to a country that blends its own approach to socialism with a nod toward individual entrepreneurialism.  

Our fellow travelers included two highly regarded anthropologists; two retired CEO's; the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees; an actor; an exceptional amateur photographer; three couples from south Texas, including a retired three-star Marine General, and other well educated and curious travelers.  We were a harmonious group and were commended for our good humor by the guides at the closing party.  It does take good humor to visit a country like Cuba, with few services, that is just beginning to experiment with small business and serving the needs of visitors.

We spent six days in Havana and three in Cienfuegos, a city on the southern coast of Cuba.  We met with a number of Cubans where we had the opportunity for dialogue.  We attended a wide range of arts activities:  dance, choral, stage productions, and visits to artist studios.  The arts are an integral part of Cuban culture and arise, in large part, among community groups that come together to bring some form of art to their neighbors. We saw and traveled in a wide variety of US vehicles from the 1950's.

We stayed in a hotel in Havana that is partially owned and operated by Iberostar, a large Spanish hotel chain.  It was equivalent to a very nice Marriott in the US.  While in Cienfuegos, we staying at a state owned property, which was clean and safe, and was equivalent to a tired Holiday Inn.  We were perfectly comfortable at both.

We returned to the US on January 11 after an intense trip where we met many people, saw much of two Cuban cities and developed a much deeper insight into Cuba and her people.